Several fires have been occurring around the city lately, spurring the Louisiana Red Cross and the New Orleans Fire Department teamed up this weekend to make sure that everyone has a working smoke alarm.
“You hear me say it hundred times, again and again, smoke alarms save lives,” NOFD Superintendent Tim McConnell said.
“We aren't stopping until we get these in everybody's home in the city. Every resident in New Orleans should have a working smoke alarm.”
It’s something McConnell is very passionate about because if you don’t have a working smoke alarm, it doesn’t just affect you.
“It isn't just your life that is at risk, it's the firefighters. So, the firefighters getting there and someone say, everybody's out vs my baby's inside, and it's huge,” McConnell said.
The more smoke alarms, the less chance firefighters have to risk their lives to save yours.
“We found a real need for a campaign like this based off of a ton of stats that boil down to the fact that most Americans are over confident and under prepared for house fires,” Meianna Oeser of the American Red Cross said.
So, if you live in New Orleans and don’t have a working smoke alarm, call the fire department.
“We'll come out, assess your home, see how many you need. We’ll put as many as you need in your home, 100 percent free, installed professionally by the firefighters,” McConnell said.
The process to install the alarms about five minutes. If you would like free smoke alarms installed in your home call the NOFD at (504) 658-4714 or click here.